Black Lives Matter street mural (Capitol Hill, Seattle)

Not to be confused with Black Lives Matter street mural (Seattle City Hall).
Black Lives Matter street mural
Map
Year2020 (2020)
LocationSeattle, Washington, U.S.
Coordinates47°36′55″N 122°19′08″W / 47.6153°N 122.3189°W / 47.6153; -122.3189

A "Black Lives Matter" street mural was painted in Capitol Hill, Seattle, in the U.S. state of Washington in June 2020.[1][2] Maintained by the Seattle Department of Transportation, the artwork has survived longer than many Black Lives Matter street murals across the United States.

Description and history

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The text "Black Lives Matter" was first painted in large white letters on Pine Street between 10th and 11th avenues, during the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest.[3]

After the letters began to deteriorate, the mural was etched permanently into the road surface in September[4] and repainted with colorful, block letters, each contributed by a different artist.[5][6][7][8]

Mural artists include Takiyah Ward[9] and Kimisha Turner.[10] The "E" in "matter" featured representations of graffiti seen around the city, and its artist was criticised for having included the anti-police slogan ACAB, apparently without notifying other artists.[11]

Maintenance and legacy

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The mural is maintained by the Seattle Department of Transportation. To protect the pedestrian area, slower traffic lanes came to displace East Pine Street's curb parking. The work was refreshed in July 2022 and will require periodic maintenance over time.[10][12][13]

In March 2023, Amanda Ong of the South Seattle Emerald said the community gardens and the mural "are all that remain" of the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest.[14] In June, Melissa Santos of Axios noted that Seattle's two Black Lives Matter murals have been preserved better than others across the United States. She wrote, "While some Black Lives Matter murals painted after the 2020 murder of George Floyd are getting paved over or worn away by traffic, Seattle has taken steps to restore its mural and make it permanent."[15] Jasmine Mahmoud of Black Arts Legacies called the mural "an enduring Seattle memorial" in mid-2023.[16]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "How the Black Lives Matter street mural came together on Seattle's Capitol Hill". The Seattle Times. 2020-06-11. Archived from the original on 2020-06-24. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
  2. ^ "Acknowledging botched first effort, City of Seattle announces plan with artists to quickly remove and recreate longer-lasting Capitol Hill Black Lives Matter mural". CHS Capitol Hill Seattle. 2020-09-21. Archived from the original on 2021-06-06. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
  3. ^ Keimig, Jasmyne. "CHOP's Black Lives Matter Mural Gets Scrubbed, Repainted, and Preserved". The Stranger. Archived from the original on 2021-01-19. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
  4. ^ Browning, Paige (22 September 2020). "Made in the CHOP, Seattle's BLM mural to become permanent". www.kuow.org. Archived from the original on 5 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  5. ^ "Seattle restores damaged Black Lives Matter mural made during CHOP". king5.com. 22 September 2020. Archived from the original on 2021-01-17. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
  6. ^ "Seattle artists restore Black Lives Matter street mural on Capitol Hill with help from city". king5.com. 3 October 2020. Archived from the original on 2021-03-01. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
  7. ^ "Artists repaint Black Lives Matter mural on Capitol Hill". The Seattle Times. 2020-10-04. Archived from the original on 2020-10-25. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
  8. ^ Vansynghel, Margo. "16 artists, 1 message: Seattle's Black Lives Matter mural a year later | Crosscut". crosscut.com. Archived from the original on 24 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  9. ^ "Martin Luther King Jr.'s impact resounds today in Seattle's Black arts, cultural communities". The Seattle Times. 2023-01-15. Archived from the original on 2023-07-11. Retrieved 2023-07-11.
  10. ^ a b "A permanent memorial to the 2020 protests, Capitol Hill's Black Lives Matter street mural gets fresh coat of paint". CHS Capitol Hill Seattle News. 2022-07-10. Archived from the original on 2022-07-14. Retrieved 2022-07-19.
  11. ^ Miller, Cole (2020-10-08). "'Black Lives Matter' mural with anti-police messaging causes controversy in Seattle". KOMO. Archived from the original on 2021-01-01. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
  12. ^ Ortiz, Keldy (June 19, 2023). "Black Lives Matter street murals are fading away". Axios. Archived from the original on July 11, 2023. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  13. ^ Lindsay, Erika (2022-11-01). "Artists Everywhere is Art Everywhere: Black Lives Matter Mural Restoration". Art Beat. Archived from the original on 2023-10-02. Retrieved 2023-07-11.
  14. ^ Ong, Amanda (2023-03-14). "New Play '11th & Pine' Tells Behind-the-Scenes Story of Seattle's CHOP". South Seattle Emerald. Archived from the original on 2023-07-11. Retrieved 2023-07-11.
  15. ^ Santos, Melissa (June 21, 2023). "Seattle's restored Black Lives Matter mural is an outlier". Axios. Archived from the original on July 11, 2023. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  16. ^ "Takiyah Ward: Putting her best foot forward for Black artists". Black Arts Legacies. Archived from the original on 2023-07-11. Retrieved 2023-07-11.
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